1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera having a position sensor which detects the position or attitude of the camera body (e.g., horizontal or vertical position) relative to the direction of gravity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras having record and playback modes that are provided with a position sensor for detecting the position (e.g., horizontal or vertical position) of the camera body relative to the direction of gravity are known in the art. In such known digital cameras, a captured image is recorded as image data together with corresponding position data in a record mode so that the reproduced image is indicated on a display monitor at an easy-to-see orientation (i.e., in such a manner that the upper and lower ends [vertical orientation] of a display monitor substantially coincide with the actual upper and lower positions [vertical orientation] of the reproduced image) in accordance with the corresponding recorded position data in playback mode.
Among such conventional digital cameras, especially in cameras that are provided with a ball-contact type inclination sensor as the position sensor for detecting the position of the camera body relative to the direction of gravity, it is sometimes the case that the inclination sensor cannot detect the position of the camera body properly if a picture is taken (namely, an image is captured) with an acceleration other than the acceleration of gravity (gravitational acceleration) being acted upon the camera body, e.g., if an image is captured while the camera is panned quickly. For instance, when an image is captured with the camera being held horizontally while the camera is panned quickly, the inclination sensor may erroneously determine that the camera is in a vertical position because of the acceleration acted upon the camera in a lateral direction while the camera is panned. If the inclination sensor erroneously detects the position of the camera body, image data is recorded together with incorrect position data, which results in the reproduced image being indicated on a display monitor at an difficult-to-see orientation in playback mode.